Means for automatically firing alpha projectile



2 Sheets-Sheet' 1 J. C. KARNES led July L4. 1925 fm i; Y gwn@v James E Kar MEANS FOR AUTOMATICALLY FIRING' A PROJECTILE sept. 29, 19,25.

Sept. 29, 1925. 1,555,061

J. C. KARNES MEANS PQR AUTOMATICALLY FIRING A PROJBCTILE Filed July 14. 1925 2 sheets-sheet 2 flames E Karnes atkoz ne 1Q Patented Sept. 29, 1925.

f Y-Applicationiiieairuly 14,1925. seria1n-o.43,5es. i

Y 0. all. @hom t `may concern' y Alle' .it 'y known that, I, JlifuitiiskCfKARrms,` 'citizen ofk the United States, and a resident i of Bualo, county of'Erie, and State ofNeW 17.*" alla..

York, have 4invented anr Improvementjin Means for Automatically .Firing a Projecti'le,` ofwhich the. following-is a specilication. a l

v HThe invention described herein may. be

y .used .by the. Government, or any ot its elicers or` employees in4 prosecution `of Workv for thel Government, or by any vother person inthe United States, Without payment. to

l nielolfuany yroyalty thereon, in accordance iviththe act of March 3, 1883. y .-.'l`hisinvention relates. to means for autofr inatieally4 firing a,

proj ectile. on vsetting vthe y i iuse'thereof'within algun.

I .In ringat rapidly moving "aerialtargets,

is necessary in order ,toinsure 'a reason @101.6% deglBcOf accuracy thatjthe dead time rof maneuver, bereducedto a fininimum.

Accordingly, Ihave fsho'vvn in aV previous l.' ."ap'lgilication,v Serial lNumber 20,537, filed 'i April 3,1925, a mechanism'for setting a fuse. afterthe 4round is spaced Withinv the gun. This is accomplished -by providing an index' lscale;l Wheelpositionab-le Hangular Wamounts v thefuse may 'f' 'p taneously With one operation.

' 'f1 is specifically covered in a separate applica'-l A proportionate to fuse range and adapted to limit movement of afsetting Wheel connected through the gun to ajfuse.

' In lorder to eect a further reduction yin the ,dead time and to eliminate the dutiesV f of vthegunfirer it is contemplated inthe-V f present invention toelectrically connect the vprimer' of theround With the engaging elevments of the fuse setter mechanism so that lbe set and the gun fired simul- The `mechanism for setting the .lthe gun. Will be b-ut brieiiy described as'it ',tion."y

i '.To these and other ends, my invention consists in the' constructlon,l arrangement,

andfcombination of elements, described herey' inafter and pointed outink the claims'forml f inga' part of thi-s specification.

A practical embodimentof the invention .isillustrated in the accompanying drawings *Wherein, f v v a Fig. lisa longitudinal sectional view JAMES xnnnns, y or BUFFALO. NEW. YORK."

(ennnrrnnnujnnnlrnnActros MARCH isse 22 STAT; 1.,.6215'.)l

fuse Within,

i" MEANS fron'AUToivrarIcnLLY rinitis A' PRoJEcTILE.

through uthe breech endfof agun With my'improved'- yfuse settingQand firing apparatus; l

the actuating mechanism;

rvFig.` 2ris an venlargedv sectional .'.viewot Figs. 3 and are viewsincsideelevation l ofVF1g.v2 showing vthe setting;V gea'r'fresl'aec-YV kdetail .vievvfy oftheV inner. Worm when, L ldigr Gs a 'tactsg' and Y Fig; 7 the electric Wiring.

of reference:

The fuseSetting.appaI-tsconsts tially of an actuating mechanisn- 'niiunted exteriorly of a gun v6y and operatively eon nectedvvith al specially designed 'round-'of y ammunition 7, the.projectile ,of Whicliig,A Y. fequipped'with a timefuse 8 ofany uitable ytype'including a 'positioningelemeiitl",

Rotatably mounted Vinthe base'of thelcari.. "tridge case is yaloevel gear Qliaving an electric Y viiring primer l 10 j and the gear 'is'l connected to a rod 11 extending. axially oftheeasev removablykeyed in the positioning element Y of the fuse 8. The iiame from the primer is conducted through a passage 12 and-vent' holes 13 in thel rear end of the rod .tothe propellant charge in the cartridge case.`

Passing through the breech ring 6a of the barrel is 'a shaft 14-on the ends of which are fixed respectively Within' and exteriorly of 1 the barrel abevel pinion lgand a spur pin- 1 Y ion 16. The pinion 15 is disposed in a recess l' of thebreech block ,'17 andv isfnorinally dis. l Y Y engaged from the bevel Vgear'9 by means 'l of .the spring 14 to permit loading of the round l .and extraction of the empty case. e Y vThe actuating mechanism of the fuse setter n, v

consists of a setting gear Wheel 18, mounted .exteriorly of the barrel and meshing' With the spur pinion 16, anda concentric` index Worm Wheel 19 provided marginally With af scale 20 graduated in values of fuse range and movable through a self-locking Worm 21 mounted in a casing '22 on which is inscribed an index line 28. The setting Wheel 18 and the index Wheel 19 are providedvvith'- Y' engaging stop members 18a and 19a, each having an insulated Contact 18b and 19h, the lead Wire of one being grounded and the other lead Wire connected to an insulated pin 9A in the breech block Which contacts With the primer When the breech block is closed. Y Y

Then the mechanism is in a position of rest at maximumv range the stopY 19a on the Worm Wheel rests against the zero stop 25 on the casing 22 While the stop! 18av on the countermovablesetting Wheel is brought up against the opposite' side off the zero stop when the gear is restored to its normal posi- Ytion by a torsion spring 26;

In operation, when the index Worm Wheel has been moved either manually or automatically an amount proportionate to the required fuse range as indicated on the range scale, the contact 19" assumes the correct circumferential position with relation to the Zero stop V25. The shaft 14 is their moved inwardly until the pinion 15 meshes with the gear 9 of t-he cart-ridge whereupon the setting Wheel is rotated until its contact 18b engages the Contact 19b thereby completing the circuit and firing the primer. At the instant that the contacts meet, the fuse has been correctly set according to the required fuse range as registered o-n the rangeV scale by the index line 23. Consequently, the fuse is set A,and the gun tired simultaneously With one operation.

While in the foregoing there has' been illustrated and described, such combination and arrangement of elements as constitute the preferred embodiment of my invention, it is nevertheless desired to emphasize the fact that interpretation of the invention should onlyv be conclusive When made in the light of the subjo-ined claims.

I claim:

1. Means for automatically firing a round of ammunition on setting the fuse thereof, embodying a pair of rotatable fusel setting members eachv provided With a contact, one of said members adapted to limit movement of the other and the meeting of the contacts determining the setting of the fuse of a projectile and closing an electrical circuit to lire the primer of the round.

2. Means for automatically firing around of ammunition on setting the fuse thereof, embodying a pair of rotatable fuse setting members each provided Witha contact, and the meeting of the contacts determining the setting of the fuse of a projectile and closing an electrical circuit to fire the primer of the round.'

3. Means for automatically firing a round of ammunition on setting the fuse thereof, embodying a pair of fuse setting members each provided with a contact, and the meeting of the contacts determining the setting of the fuse of a projectile and closing' a circuit to fire the primer of the round.

et. The combination With a round of ammunition having an electric primer, of means for setting the fuse of said round Within la gun, and electrical connections with* the setting means for simultaneously firing the primer when the fuse has'been set.

5. A gun and mechanism on the gun adapted toset the fuse of a round loaded in the gun and to close an electrical circuit to fire the primer of said1 round.

6. A device including meansv for setting the fuse of a round loaded in a gun,V and means associated therewith for simultanei ously firing said round when the fuse has been set.

JAMESV C; KARNES. 

